Hawai'i's Filipinos commemorated a milestone centennial year with a slew of nonstop festivities, including the honoring of immigrant workers at the Filipino Community Center by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and a fiesta at Kapi'olani Park that drew thousands of revelers.

Throughout the year, Filipinos celebrated the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first 15 sakada, who were Filipino farm workers recruited in 1906 to work on Hawai'i's sugar plantations.

"I think the centennial celebration helped bring together our community through a common identity — one of immigration, perseverance and growth," said Mike Dahilig, 26, an attorney and University of Hawai'i graduate student in urban planning.

But this has also been a year of trials and tragedies, and the state's fastest-growing ethnic group demonstrated unity and strength in numbers.

They rallied together to aid thousands of victims of Typhoon Durian, which tore through the Bicol region of the Philippines last month, and of a landslide that hit the southern part of Leyte island in February.

Hawai'i's Filipinos also demonstrated compassion by fundraising for families of a Kunia Road accident that killed four Filipina farm workers in April.

They flexed their political muscle during the elections, said Dean Alegado, chairman of the UH Ethnic Studies Department.

"Practically all politicians attended the centennial events and as the elections drew near, many bought ads in many of the community souvenir programs as they courted the so-called 'Filipino vote,' " Alegado said. "The recent election also saw a record number of Filipinos winning in the state Legislature and some local offices."

And Filipinos reinforced their prominent role in the state's tourism industry following the threat of a strike by the UNITE HERE Local 5 union during their negotiations with Waikiki hotels last month, Alegado said.

"It was interesting to see some of the hotel employers actively supporting the centennial events to assure the leaders in the Filipino community that they weren't anti-labor," Alegado said. "I think that was one factor for the generally positive way that the hotel contracts have so far been negotiated."

As the centennial celebration comes to an end, community members reflected on the statewide impact of the yearlong anniversary, revisited hardships and achievements of the fast-growing ethnic group, and shared projections for what the future holds for Hawai'i's Filipinos.

APPRECIATING THE PAST

The Filipino Centennial Celebration Commission's 15 members worked with public and private sources to organize dozens of events — conferences, lectures, cultural fiestas and exhibits. With the opening of a locally made Filipino historical exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the centennial message traveled to all Americans.

The goal? To nurture "a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Filipino experiences and people," said Elias T. Beniga, chairman of the commission.

Paying proper respect to the first sakada during the anniversary was a priority for the commission, Beniga added.

"By their courage to endure back-breaking work, their tenacity of surviving under difficult living conditions, their quiet acceptance of unequal treatment — all in pursuit of their undying hopes and dreams of a better life for their families — they ultimately paved the way for the many that would soon follow," Beniga said.

And the generations who have followed the sakada have made their presence known, Alegado noted.

"The larger community's awareness and appreciation of the contributions Filipinos have made to Hawai'i the past 100 years, not just in agriculture and labor, but in various aspects of the Islands' life — health industry, entertainment, the arts, media, politics, sports and the growing number of Filipino entrepreneurs — has really grown," Alegado said.

While the centennial events have highlighted Filipino achievements and fostered cultural pride, it has also been a year of discovery, pain and bittersweet remembrance for the community, said Belinda A. Aquino, a member of the Filipino Centennial Celebration Commission.

"It has offered us more of an opportunity for reflection on the Filipinos' past in Hawai'i, and one of the things that I found a little painful to deal with was the Hanapepe Massacre," said Aquino, who's also the director of UH's Center for Philippine Studies.

As part of the centennial events, Filipinos on Kaua'i unveiled a marker at Hanapepe Town Park in September in memory of 16 striking sugar plantation workers who were killed by police in what has become known as the Hanapepe Massacre of 1924.

Aquino posits that revisiting Filipino history in Hawai'i, including such somber events, is essential for generations to move forward.

"Only if we remember and honor the past can we appreciate and understand the meaning of our lives," she said.

MOVING FORWARD

While Hawai'i's Filipinos have established a prominent presence in politics, the service industry — a category that includes hotel employees, police officers and home health aides — and the labor movement, hurdles remain, experts say.

U.S. Census Bureau figures indicate that statewide, Filipinos have not achieved parity in higher education and economic status, though the statistics don't account for the impact of a constant stream of immigrants.

The percentage of Filipinos who have at least a bachelor's degree is 15.1, lower than the state average of 26.2; those who have a master's degree is 1.5, less than the state average of 5.4.

They also continue to be underrepresented in high-level, high-paying professional positions, such as top business executives, doctors and architects — that's 15.1 percent of Filipino men and 21.4 percent of Filipino women, compared to the state averages of 30.4 percent and 34.2 percent, respectively, according to Census Bureau numbers.

Filipinos also face the everyday struggles confronting all Hawai'i residents, Alegado said: "high cost of living, maintaining stable and healthy families, and being part of the effort to protect what is unique and beautiful about Hawai'i, its people and the environment."

And the Filipino community as a whole is still prone to its growing pains, Beniga added, "when you consider the fact that the immigrant experience is renewed each and every year by new arrivals."

Community leaders agree: Nurturing Filipino youth — immigrants and locals alike — is the key to progressing in society and building on the foundations laid out by the first generation immigrants.

"I believe that the future will provide for professional success as the norm rather than the current exception, only if our community rallies around our youth and believes in education as a tool of empowerment," said Dahilig, of Mililani, the UH student who is also serving on the UH Board of Regents.

Helping students succeed in high school and preparing them for college should be a high priority, Dahilig said.

Being a role model to the next generation is also essential, said Donna Domingo, vice president of ILWU Local 142, and among the highest-ranking women labor leaders in the state.

"The centennial, I believe, helped community leaders realize that ... they have to mentor these younger ones," Domingo said. "I think there's great opportunity out there for them to step up to the plate and be able to take that responsibility."

Beniga said he believes Hawai'i's Filipino community can succeed by fostering an appreciation for a common identity — one that transcends status, distinctions between immigrants and locals, language, and provincial origins.

"(The youth) see themselves — not as Tagalog, Visayan or Ilocano — but rather simply as Filipino," Beniga said. "This is an accomplishment that must be nurtured (because) they will lead us to new heights."